Madara's son Naruto
by sanmitamaya
Summary: After failing in destroying Konoha in Kyuubi attack, Madara's plans of taking revenge from konoha had to changed a bit. He adopted Naruto and trained him to make him his tool against Konoha. But the Namikaze blood in Naruto fails his plans, again. R&R plz
1. Failure in plans :Kyuubi sealed

**Hmm...how to start......well I have recently started writing fanfiction. So I am not really good at it. The idea for this particular fic was given to me by a friend of mine Jinsokuichi, and I loved it. He asked me to write novel length fiction on this one, and I just thought that it was worth a shot, so please bear with me!! :).**

Regular

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashbacks_

_**Kyuubi**_

**Jutsus**

**___________________________________________________________________________**

Of all Bijuu in the world, it had to be Kyuubi, the strongest of all the tailed beasts, one whose mighty tails could cause Tsunamis and crumble mountains. All that he could think was that the nearer that fox gets to Konoha, the more difficult it would become to stop it. As a leaf nin, and added to it his duty as the fourth Hokage, he couldn't let any harm be inflicted on Konoha.

But, what amazed Minato the most was that never in the history of Konoha did Kyuubi attack like this. So either he was provoked by something or someone was controlling it. The only ones who had the power of controlling Bijuu like Kyuubi were Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, the two who together founded Konoha. But it was impossible, because it had been more than 50 years since they lived. So that means someone provoked it, or someone found a way to control it. In either case, who?

He was sitting in his office going through all the seals to develop something to subdue the nine-tails, and finally when he was about to leave, a medic came rushing in.

"Hokage-sama, your wife is going through labor; the child will be born soon."

As soon as he heard this, Minato rushed to the nearby tent, where kushina was being attended by some medics. He was stopped at the tent entrance by a medic,

"You cannot go in Hokage-sama, Lady Kushina is in labor right now, you will have to wait."

It was frustrating, but Minato complied. After half an hour, a child's cry could be heard from inside. Minato's eyes lit up, and as he readied himself to go inside, a medic nin came out.

"Hokage-sama, the baby was delivered successfully, but due to high stress and blood loss, lady Kushina could not survive...." before he could finish, Minato rushed in the tent, only to see the still and cold body of his wife, and a small child wrapped in white sheets.

"So this is my son, eh? Wow, we both look so much alike! So my boy, guess you have to be named now. How does Naruto sound?" the baby chuckled at this. "So you like it huh? I knew you would, Naruto was the name of the hero of my sensei's first book, and I want you to become just like him, will you?"

"He is your son Minato, of course he will turn out to be a great Shinobi and a hero, like his father."

A voice came from behind, and Minato spun around to find Hiruzen Sarutobi standing behind.

"I am sorry about Kushina, Minato. I know you loved her beyond limits. Kyuubi's attack had already put her under great stress, and going under labor had burdened her even further." After few moments, Minato spoke, "Thank you for you kind words, Sarutobi-sama, she was indeed under a lot of stress. But now, she can rest.

Hiruzen cast sad eyes on his successor, for such a thing to happen right now…it was just too cruel. However, there was a grave issue at hand and there will be time to mourn after.

"Have you found a way to stop the beast?" Hiruzen asked.

"I think there is one way to stop kyuubi, but for that, my life should be sacrificed, and I need a new born child too. The technique has to be used with **Shiki Fuujin**. I will call the jutsu **Hakke no Fuuin Shiki**_**. **_Also, I will use this jutsu in conjunction with my **Shishou Fuuin**.I think it can easily be branded as an S-rank Kinjutsu ougi."

Sarutobi just stared.

"Did you say you need to sacrifice yourself?! That's...no...You can't do that Minato, surely there must be some other way."

"No, there is no other way out of this. I have to make sacrifices from my part. The required new born in whom I will seal that fox, I have decided that Naruto will fulfill that role. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!" Minato yelled as Hiruzen opened his mouth to retaliate, "I can't ask a villager to sacrifice his child and get Kyuubi sealed in him. Also, the seal will help Naruto by giving him access to unlimited chakra reserves of Kyuubi."

Minato looked up from his son in his arms with tears staining his cheeks and a broad smile on his face as he placed him in a cradle.

"Besides, he _is_ my son, who could possibly be more suited," he walked towards the tent opening and stopped, "Now I must go, before Kyuubi inflicts further damage, we have already lost most of our Shinobi."

He gave a last look to his son.

"I am sorry Naruto, I know what I am doing is not what an ideal father would do. Perhaps you may understand one day why I did this. I just hope that you will be treated as the hero you are by Konoha; carrying a burden like the one I m going to put on you at such small age is something no one can do....I love you my son."

With this he left the tent, leaving Naruto under Sarutobi's care.

Meanwhile in the woods outside Konoha

A person clad in black cloak was sitting in shadows watching the Kyuubi as it destroyed everything in his way and heading towards Konoha. _"Heh, these __Konoha S__hinobi__ are having such a tough time handling this little __fur ball__, and to think I am controlling it so easily...it__'__s good to see that my old skills hav__e__n't faded after so much time."_

"It's getting boring now. I think Kyuubi was more than enough to handle them. Hmph, I had expected that the village I established would at least have some Shinobi that would meet my standards. Guess I was wrong."

He looks up again with Sharingan spinning in the eye.

_'Yes__,__ destroy everything in your way, finish of this blasted village of Konoha. Take my revenge, for my humiliation, my banishment, for making me hide in shadows. Make them pay. Yes...__Kyuubi __no kitsune...as_ _my serva__nt, complete my orders__.__" _

With that he smiled a wicked smile as Kyuubi swung its tail, killing a few more shinobi. They were like flies to his power.

But his smile soon faded as he saw a huge toad rise in front of the Kyuubi, with a young blonde man standing upon its head. Madara immediately recognized him.

"Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, huh? So you finally decide to show yourself. Let's see what you can do."

Despite his words he knew it could be trouble; the Yondaime Hokage was a master of seals and a true genius. He was in a totally different league compared to other Ninja.

_'Finish that blonde Hokage my servant; he will be a hurdle in our objective. Show him that no one can challenge the great Kyuubi and its master. KILL HIM!"_

In front of Kyuubi

Konoha's Yellow flash stood on the head of the toad boss Gamabunta, his eyes shining with sadness and determination. He had to stop the demon in front of him, and protect Konoha and its people. He started planning his next move, when suddenly he noticed something. The demon seemed as if it was hypnotized, which disturbed him.

"_Somebody is controlling it, but whom?"_

His eyes searched for its controller, but he could see no one. That did not change his thoughts though, besides Senju Hashirama, the only ones capable of controlling a Bijuu, were the uchiha, but none of them in the village was powerful enough to do that. That left only one likely suggestion.

"_It can't be, how is he still alive? But as insane as it may seem, it seems he is alive as I am, but how?"_

But he couldn't let his mind linger on that matter, so he decided to concentrate on the Kyuubi.

"_Okay, It's now or never"_

"**Hakke no Fuuin Shiki**!!!!"

"_Well my time has come, and I will soon join you Kushina. Goodbye sensei, Hiruzen-Sama, and everyone in Konoha. Goodbye Naruto, you are going to become a hero even when you are in your diapers._" He mentally chuckled at this.

As Shinigami consumed his soul, half the red chakra which belonged to Kyuubi went inside the tent and got sealed into Minato's son and the other half with him to be consumed by the shinigami, until the Kyuubi finally vanished.

In the woods outside Konoha

"NO!!!!" the forest echoed with his scream. "Damn you Yondaime, you spoiled the whole thing. My revenge, you foiled it!!" he cursed.

The killing intent flowing through Madara could make even a root ANBU wet his pants. Fury was what he felt, pure and unbridled rage. After all, his well planned revenge was brought to a halt by that 'squirt of a Kage'.

"_I__ will destr__o__y Konoha, no matter what. And nobody will stop me this time, do you hear that Hashirama and__ Namikaze? NO__BODY!!!"_

X______________________________________X_______________________________________X

**So, how was it? Good or bad? I for one think this prologue was ok type.**

**Please do point out any mistakes, be it grammatical, or factual, or anything. To tell you the truth, for academics purpose my English is really good, but outside that, it's a bit average. In fact I am doing this "fic writing" to make myself better in English. After all, my aim is to study law in London, and for that I have only two years. Lol. Now, enough with my idiotic, "I have to learn English", ranting. **

**Ja!!**


	2. The Council meeting

**Hiya everyone!!!! Sorry to be a bit late. But I can explain, I really can. My exams are near, and my mum is not letting me come within a 3 meter radius of the computer due to this. Also, I had a maths test on this Friday, and believe me, I totally suck at mathematics.**

**Well it seems that people are liking the story, one day since the fanfic started, and 4 people have already added this one to the favorites/alerts list. But I am a bit sad because you readers have not reviewed it at all! I am a new in fiction writing so I need some encouragement! So next time, do Review please!!!!**

**This fic is birthday present to a really sweet friend of mine! Happy birthday Ishita!!!**

**I have two people to thank here. One is my beta reader, Jinsokuichi. He is constantly working on my silly mistakes, and helps me out with ideas. The second one is my sis, who listens to my ideas and questions them, so that I can fill in the loop holes.**

**Enough with the credits, now, on with the second chapter.**

Regular

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashbacks_

_**Kyuubi**_

**Jutsus**

**_________________________________________________________________**

Konoha Gates

A lone figure stood over the gates of Konoha looking over the damaged village. Memories of his betrayal by his clan flooded over him as he walked inside the village. No one stopped him on the gate, since all the Shinobi were either heavily wounded and were being tended in hospital or too busy to care about an unassuming bystander. He henged himself into an average looking civilian to avoid suspicion. As he walked along the Konoha streets, he saw the destruction inflicted by Kyuubi. "_But this is not the end, they can still rebuild the village back to its glory. I want to destroy the village to the degree that there will be nothing left to rebui__ld. There will be silence, a silence that will scream of the success of my revenge over this village!"_

He continued his pace, and kept his eyes and ears open as he listened to the other villagers, until he reached the Hokage tower. From what he had gathered, the elders and clan leaders were going to have a meeting to discuss the issue of the next Hokage, and how Kyuubi was "killed". The next hokage was none of his concern, what interested him was how the Yondaime Hokage defeated the Kyuubi. There was a high possibility that the bijuu has been sealed away.

"_I must find out who he chose as the vessel for the fox. Generally, the vessels for bijuu are new born children, so I might still be able to use it. Jinchuurikus are considered far more powerful than the __bijuu in open. If Kyuubi was defeated with such a difficulty, its jinchuuriki, when trained appropriately, will finish off the entire village quite easily." _ So he decided to sneak in the meeting and eavesdrop a bit, which was a child's play task for a shinobi with talent and experience like his_._

Council chambers

The mood in council was very grim, after all the attack had cost a great amount of casualties to Konoha. The Daimyo sat in the middle, along with Koharu, Homura and Hiruzen. The leaders of Nara clan, Hyuuga clan, Uchiha clan and Danzo along with some prominent leaders in the Land of fire.

"...we all know, the previous Hokage never did choose his successor as neither he, nor anybody amongst us, could have anticipated that such a tragedy will strike us. So it is safe to say that we need a capable leader. This attack has weakened us considerably, both physically and in spirit. If we don't regain our strength, our enemies might take the advantage and attack us." Hiruzen's speech was firm, but Madara could sense a bit of nervousness in it.

"Well for once I agree with you Sandaime. We do need a capable leader right now", stated Danzo. "Perhaps I could suggest something. Since this situation is unlike any other which we have faced till now, we need someone that is unlike any of the previous leaders. We need someone who can truly impose the laws that govern us shinobi much more efficiently and make our military strong. Someone… like me." Madara smirked at Danzo's statement; the man truly knew how to make use of adverse condition to his own advantage.

"I am sorry Danzo-sama, but my views are a bit different from you. While your ideas for a Hokage seem to be quite appealing, the idea is good only for a short period. You want to focus totally on military here, but we also have civilians here in the village that will not look favorably on the new Hokage. Also, the kind of leader we need is the one who has got the insight of the type of administration followed during such crisis, and follow the same. I believe that the crisis during the shinobi wars were similar, so we need someone who has the idea how the situation was managed that time and follow the same procedure." Everyone except Danzo nodded at the Nara clan leader's statement.

"Indeed." interjected one of the fire country leaders. "I suggest Jiraiya- sama or Tsunade-hime for this. Jiraiya-sama has been the Sensei of the late Yondaime and Tsunade-hime is the best healer in all villages. So, any one of them would be a good choice."

"Well this is true, but don't you think we later might have trouble with Jiraiya-sama due to his, err…_interests_?"

Sarutobi laughed at this. "Yes, I totally agree. Jiraiya might be serious about his position of Hokage till the reconstruction is over, but after that, he will line up the whole female population of Konoha and make them do inappropriate stuff in the name of his research. His designation as a Hokage won't help but make matters worse, as no one would dare to stop him. He is a free soul, let him be."

"But Tsunade-hime..."

"Tsunade has lost her faith, both in the village and in herself. And the deaths of her brother Nawaki and lover Dan have made her loose her confidence in the position of Hokage, as both of them happened to have a common dream, the position of village leader. It will be a miracle if we persuaded her to be the Hokage, but we don't have time for miracles."

"Yes. I really feel sorry right now how Orochimaru turned out to be. He seemed to be an appropriate candidate, but his actions and betrayal have made us impossible to consider him, even in this desperate time." The Daimyo sighed, and then looked apologetically at Sarutobi, who seemed a bit uneasy at his statement. The latter seemed to notice this, and said," Don't worry sir. As much as I hate to admit this, Orochimaru is a traitor and nothing less than a madman. He doesn't have anything required to be a village leader." The Daimyo nodded in approval.

"Well that leaves us with only one option...You." With this Homura started looking towards Hiruzen, along with all other council members (except Danzo, of course). When Sarutobi noticed this, he practically yelled, "KYAAAAH???? You don't mean that...."

"Yes we do, Sarutobi-sama. You are the only person here who is most suitable for this job. Taken that you are old, but when has age been a matter for us Shinobi? You have been termed as the God of Ninjas, there are really few, if any, who are stronger than you in this world. Not to mention that you are far more experienced than anybody here." said the Uchiha clan leader.

"Not to mention that all the people we discussed above for the position of Hokage were all your pupils. And you have got an excellent record of your own as Hokage." said the Hyuuga clan leader.

"Personally speaking I say you are more than fitting for the job Sarutobi-san, seeing how Konohagakure no sato has developed under you." Said the Daimyo.

Everyone was looking at him, expecting his answer. Sarutobi slumped further into his chair. He had so many plans for his retirement. He thought that after he had passed on the tiresome job to Minato, he will spend his days as an old man reading the _informative _books written by Jiraiya, training his grandchildren or playing shougi from time to time, not doing that nightmarish paperwork as a duty of a reinstated Hokage.

"Guess I have no choice. Very well, I will come out of my retirement and resume the position of Hokage, if this is what you want."

"Very well. I am glad to get you back as Hokage Sarutobi-san." Said the Daimyo, and Sarutobi responded with a wry smile.

"Well than our work here is over. I will leave the rest with you all. Good day then!" with this, the Daimyo and the fire country officials rose from their seats. Sarutobi nodded at them, and signaled an ANBU to escort them back safely.

When the Daimyo and the officials were gone, Koharu turned towards the rest of them. "Well, now that that matter is settled, let's move on to other issue," her face turned grim, "the Kyuubi."

"Is it true? Has Yondaime-sama really killed Kyuubi no kitsune?" the Hyuuga asked.

The Nara clan leader spoke up.

"Hyuuga-sama, surely you don't believe in what the villagers say around, do you? I had not expected such ignorance from any Hyuuga, let alone their clan leader." The Hyuuga leader growled at this statement, which was ignored by the Nara, who continued, "Hokage-sama, I believe that the Yondaime's plans of subduing the Kyuubi were discussed with you as well, because you and Jiraiya-sama were amongst the only people in the village who were close to Yondaime-sama. Not to mention that you were like a friend and mentor to him at the same time. Only you could rival him in his knowledge of seals. So kindly enlighten us with the truth of what actually happened."

Madara smirked.

"_Nara, huh? They never fail __to amaze me. Not physically powerful, but their mind is sharp enough to be used instead of a kunai, and really straightforward. It is good to see that someone actually uses brains in this wretched village. I am surprised the Hyuuga doesn't know this simple__ fact. And to think they are considered one of the most powerful and insightful clans of this village, I guess their Byakugan is more sightless than they give__ it__ credit for. "_

Sarutobi on the other hand cringed at the Nara's straightforward question.

"_Just__ when I thought that the day couldn't be any worse"_. He couldn't decide whether he should tell them about Minato's son or not. _"First I will see how they react on the fact that he is a jinchuuriki. Their reaction will decide my course of actions."_

Madara now was paying his full attention in the conversation. "_Now I will know who will be my next tool._"

Sarutobi started talking, "Well to begin with, Nara-san here is absolutely right. The bijuu cannot be killed, and Yondaime indeed discussed the method he used to _defeat _Kyuubi with me. The way he used to subdue Kyuubi is same as what the shinobi in other elemental countries use to control their bijuu."

"You mean sealing them away in some small child?" asked Uchiha leader.

"Indeed. Kyuubi, in this case, has been sealed in a boy who was born just a few hours before Yondaime finished sealing."

The whole council chamber went quiet as everyone processed the information. The silence was broken by Nara.

"What kind of a technique did he use?"

Sarutobi replied, "He invented a technique himself for this and named it **Hakke no Fuuin Shiki. **It is an S-Class kinjutsu ougi."

Nara nodded, "I didn't expect anything less from Namikaze-sama. No one could rival him in sealing techniques. But still, is there any chance of the Kyuubi being released?"

"I don't think so," Sarutobi answered, "I am not quite sure myself, but the technique completely seals away the Kyuubi and can also allow the boy to use portions of its chakra if needed. And the chances of him releasing the demon are....."

"Very high," Danzo interjected. Sarutobi blinked in confusion.

"Pardon?"

"I said that chances of the boy releasing the demon are pretty high. Don't you see, each and every shinobi likes being in charge if he knows he is really powerful. And the fact that he is far more powerful than any one amongst us even at this age will make him arrogant and he might think of releasing the kyuubi in order to enslave us."

"Danzo-sama, I do not agree with your views on the boy. To boast of one's power in such a way is not the way of the shinobi," Sarutobi was relieved at Uchiha's statement. "But I can't help but doubt if the seal is guaranteed to hold Kyuubi for a long time. Even if the seal is of Yondaime's own design, it is untested. There might be some flaws in it. What if the boy loses control over the seal, or what if the seal is based on the emotions of the bearer?"

Sarutobi sighed again, but as he did someone came through the door.

"Hope I'm not late." Said the new arrival as he walked across the floor.

"Ah, Jiraiya, what a pleasant surprise." Sarutobi said, his spirits lifting slightly, "We were just discussing the effectiveness of Yondaimes seal."

Jiraiya looked at the assembled persons then let out a hearty laugh as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"You have to be joking me old man."

Sarutobi gave a flat look.

"Oh, you are serious," Jiraya realized, "My mistake then."

Even though he said this, the look of pure amusement still remained prominent on his face. This tore at the pride of both the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan heads that someone – even a legendary sannin- had the audacity to laugh at them.

"Please enlighten us as to what is so funny, Jiraiya-_sama_." Said the Uchiha clan leader.

"I will pretend I didn't hear that," Jiraiya said before he continued, "It is funny because you idiots think that Minato's seal would break, who do you think he is. He was a better seal master than I am or ever will be and there is no way that the seal he used could be broken so easily."

"Still, to be on the safe side, we need to tame that demon brat." On seeing questioning looks in others eyes, Danzo said, "Now when the Kyuubi is sealed in the boy, to talk about one is to talk about another. We need to tame him, so that he will never harm the village again. Also, he is now a Jinchuuriki, he is supposed to be a tool for the village. So taming him will serve a dual purpose."

Hyuuga nodded, "I agree. If yondaime chose the boy as a Kyuubi vessel, it means that he thought the boy actually was going to be a liability on the village. He sealed kyuubi so that he might be a bit useful to the village. He is supposed to be a tool."

"I think I mentioned that the boy was a new born, that is why he was chosen to be kyuubi's bearer right?" Sarutobi retorted.

"I am sorry, I forgot that piece of information, Hokage-sama", but his eyes clearly showed that he didn't mean those words.

Danzo said,"That still doesn't change the fact that he is a jinchuuriki, and needs a constant supervision. I suggest we talk to his parents..."

"He is an orphan Danzo. His mother died in labour and his father," Sarutobi hesitated, and then answered, "His father died fighting in battlefield."

"Son of a martyr, turned into scum", Hyuuga muttered to himself, but Sarutobi heard it, and frowned. _"If this is the reaction of shinobi like them, I doubt that the villagers will accept Naruto kindly. Minato, what have you done to your son."_

On the other hand, Madara was processing the whole thing in his mind.

"_It appears that a grand opportunity has presented itself. That child will grow into great power and with the right hand showing him the way he may be the one to bring my revenge. However, simply kidnapping the Jinchuriki will not suffice I must give him a reason to hate them."_

Danzo replied, "Well, then we will need someone to adopt him, and look over him to make sure he remains loyal to Konoha. But I highly doubt that will happen. The villagers loathe Kyuubi for what he did, and the boy has kyuubi within him, who would want such a child...."

Madara's face twisted into a wry smile._ "You have no idea."_

Danzo continued, "But still, we might ask villagers about this. We do need to tell them truth about Kyuubi's defeat anyway. There are many stories going around about Kyuubi's defeat and some of them are absolutely ridiculous. If no one agrees to keep the boy, we will put him in an orphanage and keep an eye on him."

The Hyuuga leader nodded at this, while the other two clan leaders looked unsure. Sarutobi was too shocked to speak, he had expected a bit rude attitude by them, but this was insane. "Yondaime wanted the boy to be considered a hero, not a weapon." He said silently.

"Well, Yondaime did believe in fantasies, just like you. But real world is not the same Sarutobi. We must face harsh realities like this. After what the boy's tenant did, it will be a miracle if someone adopted him. And I, for one, do not believe in miracles." Danzo replied.

Koharu whispered to him, "Danzo is right Sarutobi. All villagers are not as well reasoned as you are. The boy is still a jinchuuriki. You cannot adopt him; you already have enough troubles of your own. By asking the villagers to adopt the child during the announcement, we might find out who truly respects Yondaime's legacy, and has guts enough to adopt the child."

Sarutobi nodded, and then addressed the others, "Very well then. I will officially ask the villagers to adopt Naruto. If no one agrees, than we will send him to a good orphanage. Any other questions?"

"Yes, hokage-sama. Would you please mind us telling who this child is?"

"His name is Naruto....Uzumaki Naruto." stated Sarutobi.

The Nara clan leader's eyes widened, but he soon regained his composure. "_There is only one Uzumaki that I know of, and that's the refugee from Uzu no kuni, Kushina. There was no male shinobi with that name. Also Yoshino did mention that day to Shikaku and me about Kushina being pregnant. She also mentioned that she __was married secretly to Yondaime. Why on earth does Hokage-sama not mention this piece of information?"_

Sarutobi noticed the Nara's expression. "_He has figured it out. Well at least he won't be a trouble for Naruto as others will be. But he still looks confused."_

"So, no other questions? Well then you all are dismissed."

With this Koharu, Homura and others, till the Nara leader, Hiruzen, and a really young ANBU with white, standing hair who was guarding the door were left behind. Madara, thinking that the information he had was enough, decided to leave as well to avoid detection and work on his new plan. Thus he left as stealthily as he had come, without alerting the room's other three occupants.

"What is it?" Sarutobi asked the Nara, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"Why didn't you tell them? Their views about the child might have changed had they known whose son Naruto was."

"No. It would have changed their attitude towards the boy, not views. They will still see him as a jinchuuriki. Minato wanted him to be acknowledged as a hero because the burden he is going to carry for his life, not for being the son of a feared shinobi. Also if the word spreads out, all those who hold grudge against Minato will go for Naruto, and with our current situation, we won't be able to stop him."

"But why Uzumaki then? He can be named something else too, if you want to hide his ancestry"

"How did you figure who Naruto was?"

"There has been only one Uzumaki in the whole village, and that was Uzumaki Kushina. That troublesome daughter-in-law of mine mentioned of being handed the copies of records of a marriage. Bride was Kushina and Groom was Yondaime. It was supposed to be an S-class secret, and since I am supposed to keep records of each and every shinobi in the village, I was told about this."

"So this means that Naruto is also an Uzumaki, doesn't it? The marriage was a secret, so no one knows about it."

"Indeed," the white haired ANBU spoke for first time, "Sensei asked Kushina-san not to change her name, so that no one links her to him. Naruto-kun is also safe if his name is something other than Namikaze, especially in the current situation, when he is totally on the mercy of villagers, who definitely are not going to treat him in an appropriate manner."

Nara finally understood and replied.

"Very well, it's troublesome, but I will have to deal with it. I will make sure that those copies of the records which I have do not get out of the Nara clan's possession. Good day Hokage-sama, Kakashi-san."

With this, he left the council chambers, leaving the other two alone.

"Naruto-Kun...he has born just now, and already is hated by people. I can't help but wonder what will happen tomorrow," the ANBU spoke up.

"After seeing what happened today, I don't have much hope. The villagers are ignorant. If these shinobi are so cold towards the boy, the villagers will leave no opportunity to kill him. I really do hope that I am wrong Kakashi." Sarutobi said.

"I wish that the Kyuubi hadn't attacked. Then life wouldn't have been this complicated." Kakashi stated the obvious.

Sarutobi took out a small scroll, and opened it. It was the birth certificate of Naruto on which contained the barely made signature of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze as his mother and father respectively. A tear rolled down as he looked over the small signatures, which testified the existence of their legacy, Naruto.

"I wish that too Kakashi, perhaps more than you do." whispered Sarutobi softly as he set the document ablaze.

X_________________________X__________________________X__________________________X

**How was it? Good? Bad?**

**Sorry it wasn't as big, seeing how much time I spent writing this one. But just like Shikamaru says, Mothers are troublesome. My mom never lets me do computer until it is her work. When she is at Home, I can sit only for 15-20 mins on computer, and during that time I am interrupted continously by both my sis and my mom. So Don't Blame Me!!!**

**Also, please review! I was quite discouraged as there were no reviews for prev chapter. I won't ask you to point out mistakes, seeing that my beta reader already does that. But if you have suggestions, do tell me!!! ^_^**

**Until next time,**

**Ja ne!**


	3. The countdown begins

**Hey everyone!!!! Sorry for being this late. I never thought continuing this will be so difficult. I had to type, then retype again and again. And the fact that my exams have started isn't helping either.**

**So please bear with me.**

**Also, I might not be able to upload new chapters for quite a while....due to exams and carnival in school and all....it already will be very hectic, plus mum won't let me come near the computer for a while....**

**Oh yes, there was this guy who wanted Madara to be paired with someone. Seriously guys, do you expect me to pair a 150 year old nutcase with some cute konoha chick??? This fic is Naruto centric only, Madara is someone who will help in shaping Naruto's character and hone his skills as a shinobi, something which was not done in original Naruto series.**

**Once again, I wanna thank my beta reader....who does wonders to my story.... ^_^**

**So on with the chapter!!!!!**

**Regular**

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashbacks_

_**Kyuubi**_

**Jutsus**

Place/Timeskip

**________________________________________________________________________**

Hokage tower

Soon after the Council meeting, an assembly of all the villagers of Konoha was called. All the villagers surrounded the base of the Hokage tower at the scheduled time. Whispers, rumors and guesses for this grand assembly soon clouded the air. As Sandaime, along with his two advisors ascended to the roof of the Hokage tower, every one stopped speaking, and quietly waited for the Hokage to start speaking.

"Citizens of Konohagakure", Sarutobi began, "As you all are well aware, the tailed demon Kyuubi no Kitsune had attacked our village for reasons unknown to us. Sadly, many of our people and shinobi have lost their lives in battling the Kyuubi and many parts of our village have been left in ruins. It is a tragic blow to both the village and its people."

Sarutobi paused, and looked upon everyone, and then continued with a sigh.

"The Kyuubi might as well have wiped the whole village away had it not been the sacrifice made by our dear Yondaime Hokage, who died soon after defeating that demon."

One of the villagers spoke up, "So is it true? Did Yondaime-sama really finished off Kyuubi for good?"

People started whispering to each other yet again, guessing the possible ways how Minato "Killed" the Kyuubi, and why not? The yondaime hokage was known as a genius that only appears once every so often so something as killing a legendary tailed beast would not have been out of his power. This however, was only true to a certain extent.

"Yes, it is quite true that the Kyuubi has been _defeated_ by our late Yondaime. Since he had not chosen his successor for the position of Hokage, I will be resuming the position of Hokage once again."

Sarutobi paused again, letting the villagers process the whole thing. The villagers obviously didn't have any problems with that, they loved Sandaime and knew he was a capable leader. They all cheered for him, which instead of making him happy, worried him even more. This was no time to cheer, not for any reason. In tragedy one can take solace in the silver lining, but that cloud is still raining.

Sarutobi cleared his throat, and a silence ensued.

_Well, here goes nothing. _

"As I mentioned, Yondaime defeated the Kyuubi at the cost of his own life. But that was not the only sacrifice he made, he had to sacrifice yet another to accomplish this goal, for your safety."

Every villager started looking towards him in anticipation.

"What do you mean by "another thing" Hokage sama? What else did Yondaime hokage-sama give away for defeating that monster?"

Sarutobi sighed, "A child." On seeing confusion building up amongst the villager, he continued, "In order to _defeat_ Kyuubi no kitsune, Yondaime developed a special sealing technique, which required him to sacrifice his life. Also, for the sealing to be complete, he required a new born child, in whom he could jail away the Kyuubi."

One of the villagers yelled, "Does that mean that that demon is alive, and lives inside a child?"

Sarutobi replied hesitantly, "Yes. Kyuubi is alive, and right now is jailed in a little boy."

The whole crowd started getting nervous. People were speaking amongst themselves and frantically buzzing among one another at the new revelation.

"That Kyuubi survived! We are so gone"

"That boy, he is practically kyuubi reincarnate"

"If yondaime couldn't control that demon, that boy won't stand a chance"

"Yea, he will perhaps kill us all and take Kyuubi's revenge on his behalf"

"We must kill that Kyuubi brat as we get the chance"

Sarutobi stood there, silent. To say he was shocked would be an understatement. Was he to protect these people? Yondaime sacrificed himself and his child for this village? For the first time in his life, he thought that Konoha may have been better off if it was destroyed.

His thoughts seemed to form words through a voice from behind. "YOU WRETCHED FOOLS...WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???"

Sarutobi spun around to find Jiraiya standing with a mixed feeling of pain and disgust etched on his face. Sarutobi shook his head

_'Once again, he has lost it. They have seen a happy-go-lucky perverted Jiraiya, now they are going to see a furious one.'_

"You idiots! That boy is saving your sorry asses and you are treating him like trash?! He is a hero, not some 'oh so bad' villain that you people think he is. He is just a day old and already is on his job of protecting you people. Minato was wrong in sacrificing himself for you bastards." Then he faced Sarutobi, "So, old geezer, you see now? These were the people for whom Minato and Naruto have been sacrificed. Minato idolized this village and its people, and so did you. Now see how these 'leaves of the great tree called Konoha' are treating Naruto, just because he sacrificed his greenery for saving the other leaves from being wilted."

Jiraiya stormed away, with rage overflowing his body. Sarutobi had seen many outbursts from this pupil, but he had never seen him this pissed. From the looks of the villagers, they were also given the shock of their lifetime.

'_Maybe now I won't have to take the trouble of getting their minds straight.'_

But his hopes were soon brought down when one of the villagers spoke up, "Jiraiya sama doesn't seem like himself today, do you think he is being controlled?" and other villagers started nodding in agreement. "Yeah, maybe he himself went to kill the boy and that kyuubi got hold of him."

"Wow! Kyuubi is one cunning demon, to think he can control that strong a shinobi."

"I think Jiraiya sama needs to remain away from that kyuubi brat"

To say that Sarutobi was angry would be an understatement. The villagers realized the presence of a deadly aura, and fearfully looked above.

"I originally wanted the boy to be adopted by one of you so that he could be inculcated with the values of Konoha, but from your reactions, I presume that it's not the best option for that boy."

_Maybe because the people of Konoha themselves have forgotten their values._

"And judging from what all you have spoken, I think that some rules regarding the boy must be set up."

Sarutobi sighed. "Firstly I want to make clear to you, anyone who intends to stand as mortal enemy of the boy, will be given life sentence immediately."

There was a collective murmur of disagreement. Sarutobi continued in a louder voice

"Also in future, no one is going to mention the boy being a jinchuuriki or to say he is a demon fox, to him, or to anyone not even your own children. I want you all to keep that information and carry it to your graves. Failure to follow this rule will see in your grave sooner than you expected."

He didn't wait for their reply. "Very well. Good day to you."

With this note, he went away, leaving the whole crowd with only one thing in mind, "Why is Sandaime-sama saving that boy? Is he being controlled too?"

There is little anyone can do when the hearts of man is clouded by hate and sadness because in this state the truth is seen as an evil ploy to divert your attention.

Meanwhile In a dark alley near Hokage tower

A man clad in black robes with Sharingan blazing in his eyes stood with a sinister smile plastered over his face.

_'This is going to be far easier than I thought. These villagers are digging their own graves by not accepting that kid. All I need to do now is to reach that kid. Teach him how to hate and make him strong and when the time comes his hate will fulfill my vengeance.'_

He then turned around and vanished without leaving a trace behind.

Two days later, Hokage's Office

Sarutobi sat with a tired expression on his face. After the assembly, he had to do everything in a hurry. He had made the medics present during Naruto's birth take blood oath to never reveal the secret of Naruto's parentage to anyone, and the rules that were imposed on the villagers were applied on them as well. A handful ANBU who knew about Naruto's parents also took oath of not revealing the information to anyone. The original copy of Naruto's birth certificate was already burnt by Sarutobi, and its copy was sealed by Nara with blood protection seals. Only a person with Nara blood could unseal the documents. So he had successfully buried Naruto's origins, although he really wished he never needed to do so.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Sarutobi looked up. "Yes?"

An ANBU with a cat mask entered, and bowed down. "Hokage-sama...."

Sarutobi sighed "Another attack on the boy, right?"

"Yes Hokage-sama. And this one was bigger than the previous ones."

"And I presume that Kakashi and you took care of them?"

"Indeed sir. Sempai was a bit rash with them, and I really don't blame him. The victim was his sensei's son after all."

"Yes. Now you and Kakashi should go and have some rest. I will be taking the child out of the Hospital and keep him under my personal supervision. I don't think that the hospital is a safe place for him anymore."

"Hai Hokage sama."

After the ANBU left, Sarutobi took a long breath and lit his pipe.

_'Really, even though I clearly stated that no one should lay a finger on the kid, the villagers__ hav__e__n't got a thing in __their mind. And now, the boy has__ practically outshone his father on the __assassination__ attempts made on him__. Let me see, I lost the count y__esterday after Kakashi reported the __7__th__ assasination__ attempt. Thanks to him and Tenzou, the boy __is still living."_

"So old geezer, what are you thinking?" a voice came from behind.

"Jiraiya! I told you not to come from the window! You nearly gave me a heart attack. And who are you calling old geezer? Show some respect"

"Yea yea, whatever. anyways, I came to tell you that I will be leaving Konoha tomorrow."

Sarutobi's eyes widened, "What? No you aren't serious, are you? I mean, Orochimaru has betrayed the village, and from the looks of it, Tsunade is not going to live here for long either. She has been hinting this for a while. I thought that you could be of some assistance, but you are going too.....how much are you all going to burden this old man?!"

Jiraiya laughed at this, "See....you accept that you are an old man. And I know Tsunade will leave the village as soon as that girl with her, Shizune I think, is strong enough to fend for herself. After Dan's death, Tsunade has taken over her custody, and being one of the legendary Sannin is going to be a burden for both of them if she leaves unprepared. All the memories of her grandfather, granduncle, Nawaki, and Dan pains her a lot, and she wants to run away from them. Thus she wants to quit Konoha."

"Tsunade, well I understand her case, but you...why are you going?" Sarutobi asked again

"Me? Well I have plenty of reasons. Firstly, I believe that after we treated Orochimaru for his betrayal, I am sure he is going to give Konoha a not so nice payback. So I am going to track him down and make sure he doesn't succeed. Frankly, I don't give a damn about this village. In fact, my second reason of leaving this village is due to all those shits in the name of people of Konoha. But there are people I treasure, so I will work hard. The third and last reason is that being in Konoha doesn't give me enough material for my fabulous works. Konoha doesn't have a single unisex hot water spring. And the female bath is situated a long way from the male one. I really can't do my research properly." Jiraiya replied with a smile.

"But what about the boy Jiraiya? I already know he was named after your work. So you are practically his godfather."

"I know about that. But I can't stand this place anymore. So I will definitely leave this place and no one will stop me."

Sarutobi sighed, "Alright, but you can take the boy with you..."

"No _sensei_. I thought about that, and I think he will be safer here in the village. He has more people who can protect him. He will constantly face dangers if he is with me. You know how difficult it would be for me to track down Orochimaru, not to mention facing his cronies and some bounty hunters. Being with a Sannin won't grant him an easy life. Besides, I don't think you want me to inculcate my habits into him, right. I know you are a pervert yourself, but unlike me, you are not open about it. I am a super pervert, and the boy might become a greater pervert than me if he lives along with me."

This time, Sarutobi let out a chuckle. "Well yes, I definitely don't want Naruto become a pervert under your supervision, his mother might find a way to get me from the afterlife. Guess I don't have any other choice."

Jiraiya grinned at this, and walked towards the window. "Well then, so long old man. I will head to the outer world tomorrow. Don't come to see me off, I am no good at farewell kind of things." And he jumped out of the window again.

Sarutobi shook his head, "It really was of no use telling him not to use the window." He stood up and walked behind the chair, admiring the scenery of Konoha from the window.

Then suddenly, another knock on the door made him turn around. _'Oh for God's sake, not anothe__r attack on Naruto'_

"Come in"

An ANBU guard came inside. "Hokage-sama, a man by name Tsubaki Kazuma wishes to have an audience with you."

Sarutobi was surprised, he had not heard of a man by this name in Konoha before. "Let him in."

A few moments later, a tall man, with a muscular body entered. He looked about 30-35 years old, and carried a very handsome face. Sarutobi had a strange feeling about this man, but he let it go. "Yes? How may I help you?"

"Hokage sama, my name is Tsubaki Kazuma. I used to live in the small country of Amegakure earlier. But, during the third Shinobi war, I had lost everything, my home, my family. After that, I decided to take refuge in the Fire country. I have been moving from place to place, and am living by doing odd jobs at various places. I have been living here in Konoha since about a week. I saw both the Kyuubi attack and the lives that were just thrown into non existence due to it."

"What are you getting at?" Sarutobi asked impatiently.

"Hokage sama, I remember you mentioning during the assembly that you wished the child in which Kyuubi has been sealed to be adopted by someone. I thought over it and found that ever since I lost my family, I was really alone. So I wish to adopt that boy."

Sarutobi tensed a bit, "Well why should I believe that you don't wish to adopt the boy to kill him. Also, if all you want is a family, you can easily marry someone and start a new family, or even adopt some other child."

'Kazuma' laughed a bit, and said, "Sir, as I said, I have seen wars, and being a refugee has taught me various things. One of them is being open minded towards everything. Unlike the other villagers, I heard each and every word you said properly; even the way you mentioned how the previous Hokage defeated Kyuubi. Frankly, I really like that little kid, he is Konoha's youngest hero if you ask my opinion, he was only a day old right? As for me marrying, then after my wife's death, I swore I will never marry another woman, as she was my one true love, and nobody can replace her. And as for why I don't adopt another child, firstly, while other children may get adopted by someone, but this child will not be, and secondly, I consider the boy a hero, jailing away that demon in his little body. And who doesn't wish to be the father of a hero?"

"But what about that demon control stuff? And how do you know about Naruto being a day old when Kyuubi was sealed in him?"

Sandaime looked the man over with calculating eyes

"So his name is Naruto, huh?" he seemed to mull the name over in his mind "Well, I have heard a lot about Yondaime hokage. The shinobi who patrolled my hometown in Amegakure during the wars mentioned him quite often, and used to discuss how he was a master of seals and how he surpassed even the great Sannin Jiraiya and the Sandaime Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi in sealing techniques. So I presume that if his intention was to save the village, he might have a fool proof plan, and he must have eliminated all chances of Kyuubi controlling his host or anyone else, to get itself released. And yes, that day, the Sannin, Jiraiya-sama, had told, well actually screamed that Naruto was 'just a day old and is already on his job of saving the village'."

Sarutobi looked at him top to bottom. His reactions so far seemed honest and were satisfactory. Yet, he didn't wish to hand over Naruto to a wanderer, but at the same time, wanted Naruto to have a real family, and this was the only chance.

"Alright, I will let you adopt Naruto, but there are a few conditions," the man looked expectantly as if he would comply to any demand made of him "You will live in this village permanently and abide by the laws, especially the ones about Naruto. Naruto must keep his clan name and most importantly, when Naruto becomes of age he will be placed into the ninja academy. Do you have any problems with the conditions?"

'Kazuma' stood there, thinking. After a while, he replied, "No, Hokage-sama, I have no problem although, I would wish my son to not become a target for the other children or other ninja."

"If he is anything like his birth parents the only thing that would be able to kill him is himself and the law I placed in effect would keep redicule to normal childhood antics." Sarutobi said a smile emerging on his face, "Since you will be given an allowance and provided that you haven't found any accommodations, you will be provided with suitable accommodations."

"Thank you, but I have already managed to find suitable accommodations near the edge of the village. Anything else you wish to know about me?"

"Yes. Are you a shinobi, by any chance? Or do you have any history as a Shinobi?"

"No Sandaime-sama. I wished to attend Ninja school, but I never did. But, I will do all that I can to make him acknowledged by this village and be a great shinobi."

"Very well thank you Tsubaki-san. Thats enough. Good day!" Sarutobi wished.

"Good day to you too.", 'Kazuma' wished back.

As soon as Kazuma exited, Sarutobi slumped further into his chair. After so many days of misery, he finally got some happiness. After all, Naruto was being adopted by someone who knew his value.

_'That guy, he acknowledges Naruto as a hero. Seeing that he knew that I am wary of him and still he agreed to stay here. And he already is so considerate about Naruto's well being. Guess he isn't peculiar after all.'_

Only if he knew.......

"_Then again…"_

Outside Hokage Tower

'Kazuma' came out of the Hokage tower and went straight inside the village. He then turned into a dark alleyway which was not visited by anyone except several cats.

Then, the man brought up two fingers near his mouth. "Kai"

As the henge disappeared, the man was surrounded by clouds. As the view cleared, Madara's tall silhouette came into view, with crimson eyes blazing like sunsets during summer.

_'So far so good, his gentle heart was always his downfall. Now he has secured the destruction by placing the most powerful being in the hands of the one who will forge him and wield him best. Now, the countdown begins.'_

X_______________________________X__________________________X_________________________X

**So how was it? Good, ok, bad?**

**For that name Madara assumed, I really had no idea what should I name him. I first considered Kai, but it's a bit common name. I am an Indian, and so, Japan is like so far from me (Even though there are names like Saya there as well)...lol. So I took up Kazuma from the hero of Manga "Faster than a kiss" Kazuma Ojiro and Tsubaki from "Kyo koi wo hajimemasu" hunk Kyota Tsubaki. These two are my latest favorites, so you can say it's a tribute to them.**

**I mentioned earlier, and I say that again, I am not going to pair Madara with anyone****, for now he is a means to an end but does play a crucial part in naruto's development and to the storyline****!!!!**

**Now, over to third matter.....ONLY 3 R****EVIEWS??? even when I begged everyone to review properly....I still get only 3 reviews....please next time...do review...only if to keep my heart!!!!**

**Ja ne!!**


	4. Training: Learn Kage Bunshin!

**Hullo Guys!!!! How r ya all??? I know I am late in uploading this...I am really, really sorry for that. But really guys...I have been so damn tired all this time....exams, debate, this and that....then tests...and seeing that I am becoming more of a couch potato..my mum made me join a gym....and its tiring as hell....I hate exams..I really really hate it....and right now I have a sore back, legs aching while I m typing this whole thing...But as they say...it's now or never...lolz....**

**Well one thing....I love u all for those reviews I got...thanks so much....each review and favorite story/author/alert mails I get from the site makes me so happy that I think I'll explode...lolz...keep reviewing guys...I hope u keep supporting me like that....**

**Well, from here things will move on a bit.....only a bit though....our Naru-chan will grow a bit from here....it's been really difficult for me to think of this chapter....and I am proud of the idea...lets see my writing skills will do justice to it or not.....**

**A/N: The story is about 5 years after naruto was born....^_^**

**I don't think I need to mention that my beta reader is great...because he just is!!!!!**

**Now to the chappie!!!! ** ^_^

Regular

_'Thoughts'_

_**Flashbacks**_

_**Kyuubi**_

**Jutsusrt**

Place/Timeskip

* * *

"...647...648...649..." a child's gruff voice reverberated in a quiet forest clearing at the furthest corner of Konoha"

"Faster boy, we don't have all day. You have five minutes to complete 800 push-ups or no food tonight." Another person screamed at the former.

"Darn old man. One minutes for 150 push-ups? Who do you think I am? You freaking sadist of a father......"

"One more word Naruto, and your ramen coupons for this month will be burnt to ash." Then he smirked, "Look on the bright side, I'm letting you do it with both hands."

Naruto gulped, and started doing his push-ups even more vigorously. The older man smirked. He knew how to push the right buttons of his soon to be 5 year old adopted child. He watched the boy doing exercises totally impossible for any normal child that age. But Naruto was anything but normal, and Madara took no pains to change that. In fact, the poor boy had started his 'training' when he was barely a month old.

_**|Flashback: about 5 years back|**_

It had been a month since Madara adopted Naruto under the alias 'Kazuma'. He had to admit, raising a child was not an easy deal, even for a seasoned and experienced shinobi like him. If the people, who considered Madara an epitome of calm and composed behavior, then they might start to question their beliefs if they saw him now. The child's puking was a more intimidating sight for him than all the bloodshed he had seen. Sometimes he wondered, was everything he was going through in order to destroy Konoha really worth it?

Madara nearly lost his cool as Naruto started whining for the umpteenth time. He rushed into the room, going past the floor littered with maternity magazines and children diapers.

"What happened now..." he began, but the scene inside the room halted his steps. Naruto was crawling, not like dragging himself but actually crawling!

"Heh?! But those stupid magazines said it is supposed to happen when he would be 3 months old. Oh Kami, to think I wasted my time in that bookshop with all those women staring at my back....."

But he was happy; at least there was some progress, no matter how small. Naruto was trying to grab his red stuffed toy fox, and started playing with it, unaware of an amazed Madara frozen near his cradle. Suddenly he dropped his toy again, and cried, snapping Madara out of his thoughts.

'_Better see what __the kid's limit __i__s__,__'_ he thought, as he pulled out some strings and attached them to the toy.

As soon as the child reached near his favorite toy, Madara moved it further away. Naruto made a small face, and moved further near to it, only for Madara to move it away before it got away. A small frown formed at his face, as he looked at the toy with a kind of challenging look. Then he suddenly smiled and immediately lunged at the toy, but it moved again. The closer Naruto got to the toy, the further away Madara moved it.

This game of tag-with-toy went on for about half an hour, leaving Naruto tired but determined and Madara bored yet smug.

"This child seems like he will grow into a hardworking and determined person. If this remains, then I don't think I will need 5 years to start his training......"

Suddenly he felt the presence of another chakra nearby.

'_That Sarutobi has sent another ANBU? And here I thought I have already convinced him...I sure did underestimate his cautious nature.'_

As he stood there, Naruto took his small lapse of concentration to his advantage and immediately grabbed his toy, with no intention of letting it go. Madara realized it was end of the game, and exited the room, amused by the new developments.

_**|End Flashback|**_

Around a month after the incident, Naruto had started to stand on his feet, and walking came about 2-3 weeks after. Madara started training him when he was just 3 years old. The exercises he took included running around the forest, which covered about 10 miles, on his feet, and then small rock lifting exercises. As the boy grew, his exercises increased, so did his stamina. He was stubborn, and was keen to learn anything and everything. Now, his morning exercises included going for 40 laps around the clearing and carrying weights that equaled his. Then came some dodging exercises, where Madara threw some big rocks towards Naruto and he dodged it. The rocks, which on first glance looked not so fatal, could actually cause heavy injuries due to the speed at which Madara threw them, and the chakra infused in them. After that, 800 push-ups, which he had to complete within half an hour, thirty five minutes at most.

On evenings, he did chakra control exercises. Madara had been trying to figure out how to bring out Kyuubi's chakra out of him, but he still hadn't figured it out yet. However, in his attempts, he found that Naruto himself had huge Chakra reserves, which with proper training, could rival a Jounin's by the time most of the children were struggling to be genin. So he made him do breathing exercises and Chakra control every evening. Naruto had already mastered tree walking, and had almost mastered water walking. At nights, Madara taught him language, usage of seals and other elementary theory. He had not taught him any jutsu as yet though. At times, they played "hide and seek" at night, with the aim of increasing Naruto's stealth and deception AND his sensitivity to surroundings at the same time. Often, they made traps too, at which Naruto was quite good, and many times his traps even caught Madara off guard.

"798...799...800! Oi old man, I have completed the push-ups. Now give my coupons back!"

Madara looked upon the small kid, ticked by his 'old man' comments. Perhaps his face showed the anger, because the instant Naruto saw his face, his eyes widened and his stammered an apology. Madara sighed, he knew Naruto was always an obedient, polite and respectful person, always except when his Ramen coupons came in line. The food never particularly appealed to Madara, and so he found Naruto's liking for the thing amusing yet irritating at the same time.

"There you go", Madara took a deep breath and continued, "tonight we will not be doing 'standing on water technique' **(A/N: Naruto's version of water walking, ^_-)**", he said the name distastefully before he continued.

"I want you to begin some training in basic jutsu. Maybe a Kawarimi, a Henge or Bunshin, pick which ever one you like."

Naruto stared.

"Huh? These are not the only things they teach in academy. What about taijutsu? Oh and that survival training, weapon throwing, and all that? I think Genjutsu also sounds cool. Father, your knowledge about the academy is lacking a lot. You need an update." Madara didn't know how or why Naruto had so much knowledge about the academy, perhaps that was the reason why he looked somewhat shocked, or maybe it was just the fact that a five year old told him that his knowledge was lacking.

"How do you know about all these? I don't remember mentioning any of this....."

"Once when I went to eat Ramen, I think it was about 7-8 months ago, I saw this guy who was all excited about going to the academy. I wondered what was so special about it, so I sneaked into the place. There I hid here and there on the grounds and saw them whenever they practiced outside. Also, some of them were whining about the vastness of the curriculum. It was funny, because I think it's very easy. I mean, I can do Kawarimi and henge now, bunshin is okay I think. I......."

As Naruto babbled, Madara stood there, too amazed to concentrate on anything. The boy had already mastered academy level Ninjutsu, that too by mere observation. On top of that, he had sneaked into a place full of chuunins without detection. What the hell was this Kid?

"Naruto, calm down and tell me all what you know."

The child gawked at his father, and replied, "but I was telling you just now..."

"Well then, tell me again."

Naruto took a deep breath, then began,

"Henge, Kawarimi, Bunshin, I could not do aiming with shuriken and kunai, so I bought some from a boy in exchange for some of my ramen coupons. I had to go a whole week without Ramen," he added wistfully, then continued. "I can throw them now without missing the bull's eye, though I do miss sometimes. I saw a boy practicing a fire jutsu nearby, I think around the same age as those genins, but I still am not sure because he was wearing the vest like all the teachers. He was blowing big fireballs from his mouth. His eyes were weird, one moment they were creepy crimson, then they were black. It was pretty cool, you should have seen that."

Madara smirked, he didn't need to see THAT technique, it was his signature technique after all.

"That it called the sharingan. It is a dojutsu that runs in the blood of the Uchiha clan, Konoha's strongest clan. It is one of the strongest and most dangerous dojutsu you can imagine."

"By blood you mean, that I have to be born into that clan to have it." Madara nodded. "Aww drat. Such a thing even exists! I thought techniques were meant to be learnt."

"Ha ha. That is what a Kekkei genkai is. You can't learn everything." he then saw Naruto's confused gaze. "You don't know what Kekkei Genkai is?"

Naruto shrugged, and Madara sighed. "Naruto, you said you saw the children in grounds, not in classrooms?" He nodded.

"_That won't help. He needs to know the very basic things like this to survive."_

"Ok Naruto, leave academy base jutsu. I am going to teach you something else. I want you to use it for your theory studies and complete the academy curriculum by end of this month. The theory here is very detailed, so you will have to work hard."

Only Madara's hands on his shoulders kept a hyper excited Naruto on the ground, "Wow a new technique!!! What is it? How cool is it??" He was so excited that he completely forgot he was going to eat at Ichiraku's a few minutes before.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu; it is a B-rank Kinjutsu Jutsu, which means only high ranked ninja can do this technique. Does that make it cool?" Naruto nodded vigorously, wanting to know more. "It is like bunshin, you make replicas of yourself, but the similarities end there. The technique literally divides your chakra amongst your clones, making them even more solid. It requires high amount of chakra, thus it is required that you use every bit of chakra with precision, and don't waste any of it. Good thing I made you do water walking." At Naruto's confused expression, Madara rolled his eyes, why do these children tend to learn things only if they sound cool, "I mean 'standing on water technique."

Naruto nodded, as Madara continued, "The Kage bunshin no jutsu is a very time efficient technique, as it does not require complex series of seals. As a matter of fact, it requires just one hand seal."

"Wow! One hand seal! Cool! But how will they help me in studies?"

"Not just studies, but in information and experience gathering as well. Kage bunshin no jutsu didn't earn its title of being B- rank jutsu just like that. Actually, it has a very unique feature. When a clone created by Kage bunshin technique is dispelled, all what he saw, heard, spoke, felt, will become a part of you. His experience becomes your experience, his knowledge becomes your knowledge, his memories become your memories."

"So that means, when I need to learn of enemies and there are chances, I won't come out alive if I am detected, I can send a clone to do my job. He will be dispelled, I will remain safe, and I will learn what he learnt. Wow that would be handy! Cool! Teach me the technique now!" Naruto said excitedly. However, his stomach seemed to differ as it growled so loudly that the voice echoed in the clearing.

"He he. I think I need to eat first. Okay I am off to Ichiraku! And then you are going to teach me that kickass jutsu!"

"Naruto, don't forget…"

"Yea yea yea, don't show off in public." Naruto said as he ran off, "Just don't forget to teach me that awesome jutsu when I get back."

Madara sweat dropped. Why can't this child learn anything without branding it 'cool' or 'awesome or 'kickass'. He shook his head as he watched the child happily running in direction of Konoha market.

"_Now, time to take off that Genjutsu I have on that ANBU,"_ Madara thought, as he walked back inside the house and undid the genjutsu, _"That Sarutobi is far more cautious a than I thought."_

x______________________________________________________________x

**How was it?? I know seeing the time I spent on updating this, it mustn't be very good. But well, that****'****s all I could do. But oh ****well, I hope it****'****s still satisfactory I guess. I am working on the other chapter, I think I will update it near 11****th**** March, because I have my exams till 8****th****, and my sister's till 10****th****, till then no pc. He****he**

**Ok I hope you recognized the U****chiha Naruto saw in**** the clearing in the chapter. Itachi ro****xx****....i simply couldn't keep myself from adding him. He was 10 w****h****en he became a chuunin,**** so I mentioned him wearing Chu****nin vest....I hope he fits well.**

**Also, I think ****yo****u might want to know why naruto c****a****n go to city so fr****eely, and talk to a child****-**** even****trading ****for shuriken with ramen coupons. So I'****ll mention that beforehand. Madara was given**** a**** place to live in a forest clearing, and his location was kept a secret from every one. The ones who were assigned to guard the place ****were p****eo****pl****e**** who knew Naruto's legacy AND were under blood oath not to mention anything about him. So when no one knew of his truth, and could not find him or see him, they won't recognize the person walking in streets 4 years afterwards would they? And babies**** change a lot during that**** whole time.....hehe-------*I'****m a daughter of gynecologist and a ****pediatrician****, that helps sometimes***

**Kk so that****'****s it for my section. Ask anything you want to. AND do tell if you find anythin****g wrong. Oh and as always...revi****e****w**** plz!****!!! they are like food for an author u ****k****no****w, and I am quite a foodaholic...he****he**

**My beta reader roxx!!! He****he....**

**So then see ****ya soon!!! and pray I perform good in exams...ha****ha**

**Ja ne!!!**


	5. The Game Has Just Begun

**Hello again everyone. I am back! Sorry for being so late, I swear it was not my fault. Damn it all to the stupid school! Thank god I'll be outta this next year....I hate school in general. And then my mum! Urghh...I dont think we need a description of it. But now my summer vacations have started, so I think I can pull off about 3 chapters during this. Not more than that, because even during holidays, I have been given a fair share of homework to do.**

**Have I mentioned my beta reader is great?**

**Regular**

_'Thoughts'_

_**Flashbacks**_

_**Kyuubi**_

**Jutsus**

Place/Timeskip

With each passing day, Madara grew increasingly impatient. Naruto was already, if not Chunnin, then high Genin level already. He was extraordinarily intelligent and always alert to what happened around him. His already high chakra reserves were now near Jounin level. His chakra control was perfect; hence he was able to pull off the A-rank jutsu like **Kage bunshin** repeatedly without being exhausted. His training regime was even stricter than what it was 2 years before. He now carried 4 times his weight on each of his limbs and had to dodge all the Kunai thrown towards him, courtesy Madara. To make things better (or worse) the training clothes had gravity seals on them, which increased the difficulty level every time Naruto started to overcome them.

But even with the immense progress in Naruto's strength, Madara's original intentions for adopting the boy were yet to be fulfilled. He could not understand how to make the child hate the village without bringing this to others' attention. Also, the seal caging Kyuubi was stronger than he thought. Madara's other intention behind Naruto's inhuman training regime was to bring out the Kyuubi's power. And he almost succeeded once, almost.

It started with nothing. Once after completing his morning regime, Naruto was asked by Madara to run near the cliff side to gather some herbs. However, Naruto didn't know what he was talking about, so Madara went with him to help in selecting them. While picking, however, Naruto suddenly fell in the cliff out of exhaustion from training. He was low on chakra, and was barely able to hold onto a branch. He screamed for his father, who just stood there and watched, but as the seconds ticked away and hope seemed all but lost the boy's features started to become sharper. Something in him refused to let go, to die.

He looked as if he was suddenly filled with far more energy than before, and before Madara could as much as blink, Naruto leapt back up the cliff using rocks jutting out of the cliff's face as a base and was up safe in no time. However, the sudden energy vanished when he was safe, and Naruto collapsed, not before Madara saw slitted red eyes fade to blue and his eyes closed.

That was when Madara finally understood. The kyuubi couldn't come out with tough training regime. It was when the boy was in danger, and he had no resources left. The feeling of self preservation triggered the leak. The only problem now remained was the 'hatred for Konoha' part. How could he confirm his assumptions and make the boy hate people both effectively and efficiently? That was the very basis of his newest plan. It was finally time to visit Amegakure and his little organization for a little while, he needed to show that boy Nagato that the real leader is still alive.

The next day, Hokage office

"Hokage-sama, Kazuma san wishes for an audience", an ANBU guard informed the Sandaime.

"Hmm, send him in," Sarutobi replied.

He was quite surprised. Kazuma, ever since his request to adopt Naruto, had never come to the office for anything. Usually Sarutobi himself went to check if they needed anything from time to time. What had brought the man here now after so many years?

The sound of the door being closed brought Sarutobi back to the present, where he saw the hulking figure of a man standing in front of him.

"Kazuma san, what brought you here today? How is Naruto?"

Kazuma seemed to hesitate a bit, and Sarutobi felt a bit uneasy. Whatever the man was going to say next was surely going to be something Sarutobi would have difficulty agreeing on.

"Hokage-sama, I have been living here for the past seven years as per your wishes, and have took care of Naruto as my own child. Today I have come with a request, sir."

"What is it? You can ask me freely whatever you wish," Sarutobi replied, seeing that whatever Kazuma wished was bugging him a lot.

How wrong he was!

"Hokage-sama, a few days from now would make it ten years since my wife and my son died during the war. I wish to visit them, my son and my wife, for one last time."

"You want to go to Ame? But....no, Amegakure is too dangerous. You cannot go there of all places! Not that I don't trust you, but I don't think even you will be able to save Naruto if anything happens...."

"What? No, no, I am not taking Naruto with me!"

"That is a relief; though, I am concerned as to who will take care of him whilst you are gone." Sarutobi asked, confused.

"I request that you assign some help to keep an eye on him while I am away. His birthday is near, and even though I know he is not in any immediate danger as such, I don't wish to take any chances."

"You know Naruto's birthday is near, yet you don't wish to celebrate it like a rightful father. And what do you mean by immediate danger?"

"For your first question, I understand that you are unhappy. But I have denied my wish to visit them for nearly nine years, earlier to survive, and now due to responsibility of a child. You shinobi might have a heart strong enough to live without paying attention to your human needs and desires, but I am no shinobi. I could only deny till it was just a wish, but now it is a desire, an acute need to be fulfilled for me."

Sarutobi cringed at the harsh words. It was not that shinobi were not humans but killing machines with hearts made of stone; they were simply able to deal with loss far better and easier than civilians, after all, what good is a ninja who breaks down in the heat of a battle after seeing his friend killed. However, a killing machine was not too far from an apt description of a ninja, they are trained in the art of kill.

"As for your second question, Naruto is nearly seven years old. There has not been a single attack ever since I adopted him. That proves that no one knows where the child they considered a demon incarnate is. He has already started going out and interacting with other villagers like a normal child. If he wasn't recognized before, I doubt there will be any problem now after so many years. I don't think he needs any protection unless someone who knows recognizes him."

Sarutobi thought about this, and gave a nod. "When do you intend to leave?"

"Tomorrow, I think. I need to complete the preparations. I need to give Naruto a heads up about this as well."

"Sure, go ahead. Do you wish any of our help to escort you as well?"

"No, I will be able to handle as much. I just need Naruto to be safe."

"Very well then, I will make sure to keep an eye on him and assign a Genin team. You can go now."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Kazuma bowed and exited. Sarutobi released a breath he was unconsciously holding, and further slumped into the chair with a content sigh. From what he had heard and from the ANBU reports, then Naruto was growing up well and having the happy life that most, if not all Jinchuriki was denied.

However, if he could read minds then he would have seen what a great disaster, October 10 would soon become. Madara was indeed a crafty one, he knew that a genin would be assigned to look after the boy, and knowing Naruto for who he was and what he could do – he trained him after all – a genin would not be able to stop him from sneaking out.

"_Yes, soon."_ Madara though as he made his way back to Naruto.

x______________________________X______________________________x

**I know this is short. And I am sorry about that. Actually I was planning on combining this and the next chapter. But it was turning out to be very, very long. So I broke this into two chapters and elaborated a bit. The next chapter will be longer, I swear. Oh, and I will try to update by next week....my holidays are starting, so I will be faster than my usual pace.**

**And yes, if you have not yet guessed from the end, the next chapter is going to be a BIG turning point...pretty much like one incident thats going to decide the future course of the story. I was originally combining it, as I mentioned, and I found it lost the big touch I wanted, and well was making even me quite bored. So I just divided the whole thing, and now I am working on the finer details. Look forward to it. Bt fr the time being READ AND REVIEW this chappie.**

**Ja ne!**


	6. Father, What am I?

**Hello all. As promised, I'm now presenting the new chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. It's longer than all the chapters I have written till now, and is a bit more...interesting. At least I think so.**

**For those who asked if Naruto and Madara are going to have even a little bit of a father-son relationship, I have one thing to say... ALL UCHIHA (Except Obito and Itachi) ARE BIGGEST JERKS EVR! SO HELL NO! Madara is a prat anyway, so is Sasuke...may god (or in this case Masashi Kishimoto) sends both of them to deepest pit of hell!**

**All thanks to my beta reader to make this fanfic what it is...**

Regular

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashbacks_

_**Kyuubi**_

**Jutsus**

Place/Timeskip

To say Naruto was happy would be an understatement; he was ecstatic. For the first time in his seven years of life, he was going to celebrate his birthday like he always wished to. Usually his birthday was treated more like 'house arrest day' and was confined to his house for the whole day. Though unlike most of the children of his age group, he was not whiny, he did hate the whole 'being closed inside the house' on his special day, and not being able to at least eat out at Ichiraku ramen.

This time, for reasons only god **(A/N: And me, I am**** the**** author after all) **knows, his father had decided to go somewhere, and he will be all by himself. Even though he was a little put off by the fact that his father will not be with him to celebrate like other kids' parents, he was happy nonetheless. However, there was one little problem...

Flashback: 3 days ago

"I am back!" A voice came from the doorway. Naruto had just returned from his evening regime and was tired, yet he rushed to the door to greet his father.

"Welcome back father. How did your work go?"

"It went nicely. I am going to make dinner, while you get yourself cleaned up." Madara then looked disapprovingly at Naruto's dirt covered self. "I do believe I have told you to get washed as soon as your exercises are over. Yet, I see that you have not paid any heed to a simple instruction."

"Sorry, I just returned from training, and was picking a change of clothes when you arrived."

Madara looked at the boy, then nodded, "Alright, hurry up then. I need to talk to you about something after we have had some food."

"Hai!" Naruto rushed inside. His stomach was grumbling so loud that he was surprised the older man didn't hear it.

After about ten minutes, Naruto emerged from the bathroom, looking much cleaner than he looked earlier. He then went to the living room, where Madara was sitting with the dishes already laid down. He sat in front of him, and with a quiet 'Itadakimasu', started eating.

They remained silent the whole time they were eating, and Naruto wondered what his father wished to talk about. After they finished eating, Naruto cleaned the leftovers, while Madara took the dishes away. He returned to find Naruto sitting quietly, and he went to take his place.

"You wished to talk to me, Father?", Naruto asked.

Madara tilted his head, "Yes. You see, I am going out of Konoha for some work tomorrow. It might take me a week or two to return. I have talked to Hokage-sama, he will have a genin team assigned here to keep an eye out for you, just in case you try to run away for your birthday."

Madara half expected Naruto to start whooping and screaming but was a little surprised to see that Naruto's calm composure did not change a bit. But Madara could see in his bright cerulean eyes that he was not entirely wrong, Naruto was ecstatic to hear the news, and was starting to understand the implications.

"Yes father, I understand. But if the team would be here, they will know about my exercises, and you said no one..."

"...should know how strong you are, and how much you know, that is still applicable. Train at the riverside, I believe I have told you how to use the Genjutsu seal I gave you the day before yesterday?"

Naruto nodded knowingly, "Yeah. I got it. Is that it?"

"Yes. I have placed a new scroll on your desk, read it and learn it by the time I come back. You may go now. "

Naruto stood up and went inside his room. As soon as the door was shut, Madara heard a muffled shout and whoop from inside. He smirked. _Children are so__ naïve. But soon, this will change. I will make him hate this village, so much that he will destroy it by his own hands. And when that will be done, I will use him for my Moon's eye plan. _**(A/N: Bloody b**tard)**

End Flashback

So here he was, all alone at his house just a day before his birthday. And he had the chance to go out and celebrate it like other children do. The only difference would be that he would do that alone. No father, no friends. Madara had strictly prohibited him to befriend any Konoha citizen. He sometimes wondered why his father never let him talk to anyone, unless it was absolutely necessary. Whenever he voiced his curiosity over this, his father's only words were, "Time will tell you Naruto. Soon it will."

Now, the only problem between him and his dream birthday were the genin guarding him. In Naruto's opinion, there was only one word to describe them: ridiculous. Stealth was a non-existent term in their guarding, even though it was the key point of their strategy. Escaping would be a piece of cake for him, only he needed a plan. Naruto had the mind of a prankster, and cunning of a fox, no pun intended. Hence a fool proof strategy was already in his mind, and our little whirlwind was itching to put it into action.

October 10 th, Naruto's Birthday, Kyuubi's Defeat Fest, **OH NO! |**

The morning sunlight seeped through the windows of a small cottage in a faraway corner of Konoha, and fell upon a sleeping Naruto. He stirred, and tried to hold onto the last vestiges of sleep but it was to no avail. Finally giving up, he opened his eyes, revealing a rare shade of cerulean. He lazily looked around his room, till his eyes finally rested on a calendar, with dates till October 9 crossed out. Then it hit, and he jumped out of his bed.

"...birthday...today is my Birthday...WOOOHOO!"

He ran and jumped all around his room, screaming with joy. His long awaited birthday had finally come, and there was nobody who could stop him to do what he wanted.

After a few moments passed, he cooled down a bit, and decided to do his morning regime. When he returned, he refreshed himself, and then made some breakfast. Madara always did the cooking, but he still had taught Naruto how to cook, ever since he could reach the stove. His morning and noon passed in blur, as he continued his regular routine, partly because he did not want to alert his guards, and partly because he had nothing to do for that time. As evening approached, he went again for training. But this time, before returning, he placed a Kage bunshin at the training ground.

As soon as the time came, he went inside the bathroom, and did a replacement jutsu, to replace himself with his clone. When he was out of his confinement, he grinned, "mission 'Celebrate birthday with a blast', commence", and made his way to the main market.

Meanwhile in Hyuuga compound

In a small room situated at the main house was sitting a girl whose eyes were a lovely shade of lavender. They stared at her reflection in the mirror, and held sadness that clashed with her young face. The six year old girl looked graceful, even in stillness. Her face was a mask of calmness, and her head was adorned by pixie-cut hair that were the same shade of purple as the Kimono she was wearing.

"Hinata sama, are you ready now?" a voice came from outside. The girl named Hinata stood up and opened the door for her caller.

"Y..ye..yes, I am ready, Kaori-san"

The woman Kaori looked at Hinata appreciatively and then said, "You look quite beautiful, so much like your mother. It's like I am seeing her younger version, except the eyes of course. But they suit you somehow."

Hinata blushed, and then muttered a 'thank you' timidly. Then she stuttered, "sh..shouldn't we g..go, Kaori san?"

"Ah yes! Hiashi-sama would be angry if we delay anymore."

Kaori started leading Hinata to the doorway, holding the girl's hand in hers. The early calm on Hinata's face had vanished completely, and an expression that looked more like panic took its place.

Kaori looked sadly at the girl again, knowing the reason of her obvious fear. _'She lost her mother, and she had to go through that ordeal with__ that__ Kumo shinobi. After all what she has suffered, she should be given more affection__.__ But no, Hiashi__-__sama is treating her like a machine more than his daughter. And even the branch is completely adverse to her because her kidnapping was the cause of Hizashi's death and the resentment in Neji's heart. Oh for heaven's sake! She is only a kid!"_

Kaori dropped Hinata at the gates, where Hiashi was waiting. He looked at Hinata with calculating eyes, then nodded, "You look...acceptable. Let us make haste."

The girl had no idea where her father was taking her, and was curious. At the same time she was afraid to ask the older man. But finally, curiosity won over her fear and she asked, "Where are we going, Father?"

Hiashi looked at her disdainfully and replied, "Hinata, I know you have issues with your physique and emotions. But don't give me a reason to think that you are mentally challenged as well."

Hinata cringed," N...n...no father, I just..."

Hiashi continued without paying heed to the interruption, "Well, I would not say it exhibits your mental inability, that's going too extreme. I would call it lack of observation skills. That is equivalent to disability though; for a future Hyuuga heiress at least. Anyway, today Konoha is celebrating seventh year of Kyuubi's defeat by our late Yondaime Hokage's hands. This festival has been held for the past six years with much...enthusiasm on the villagers' part. However, I never took you out on this festival due to your young age, and due to the insecurities amongst our elders caused by that Kumo affair. That might be the cause of your already questionable attention."

"I am sorry, Father," Hinata said, her eyes filling up at her father's rude comments.

She bowed her head and blinked them away, knowing her father would not let her live in peace if she cried. At least he was taking her on a happy occasion, away from the gloom in the main house; this caused her mood lightened a little bit, for today, she will be able to enjoy a little.

Konoha's main market

To say Naruto was surprised was an understatement. He was completely taken aback. The whole Konoha market looked like some kind of Carnival. Bright lights covered the existing shops, and Naruto could see the overwhelming number of new stalls all over the place. Some stalls provided games, some offered different kind of dishes, sake, toys, anything and everything. Sale banners were perched upon the shops, and every single corner screamed 'Celebration'.

Surprise wore off, replacing itself with joy. Naruto's birthday had become more rocking than he had imagined. "This...this...wow...! I think that whatever event it is today, it sure is my favorite, if they hold a festival like this every year."

He started roaming around, looking over the shops. He stopped at some shops to play games, and won most of them. Finally he stopped at a shop, and the smell of the Taiyaki it offered could not make Naruto move further. So he decided to go in.

"I don't know the cause of this celebration anyways, and asking people seems to be good idea," he mused, then went inside the shop.

Naruto sat down at the counter, beside him were sitting two chuunin. A man in his late forties came and asked, "Hey little kid. What are you doing here alone?"

"Ah, my father is not in town. That is why I am here."

"Oh, but it's not safe to roam around alone kid. This is a festival, and you might find some shady characters or drunkards who might harm you."

"I am here only for a little while. But I don't understand, what is this celebration about anyway?" Naruto asked.

The older man looked at him incredulously, "Don't you know? Today we are celebrating the Anniversary of Kyuubi's defeat."

"So that is why the mood is so great around here." Just then a waiter passed by "Oh, take my order please?"

The waiter took Naruto's order then asked him, "If you didn't know what the celebration was about, why did you come here? Shopping?"

"Naruto laughed, "Oh, no...Today is my birthday too. I have turned seven years old today."

The man and the shinobi beside him paused. They looked at him again as something clicked into their minds. They looked at the boy again, and their suspicions were confirmed by the whisker marks on Naruto's face. Their thoughts were the same.

_He is the boy. The demon incarnate._

The waiter remembered the Hokage's rule of 'No Harm to the Boy' though, so he clenched his jaw. "Get out of here."

Naruto was confused, "Huh?"

"I said get out of this shop, brat, and never show your face again, or I will kill you with my own hands."

His expression told Naruto that something was wrong, and he hurried off. However, those customers who finally realized who Naruto was decided to exact their revenge on him, and started following him out of the shop.

Naruto realized he was being tailed, and he knew that things were probably going to get a lot worse. Most of the people following him were shinobi, and a bunch of real strong civilians. He could handle one or two chuunins, but not at the same time and a mob was impossible. So the best option was to run, run as fast as he could and hope to lose them.

However, fate was not with him that night. As much he tried to run, the crowd did not let him. He was pushed, squished, and many a times found himself in situations when he must have been super embarrassed, given the situation when he was not being followed by a dozen of people with killing intent emanating from them.

He was glad for a moment when he found that his stalkers' number had gone down by two, until he realized that they had split up. He was dragged by the two men inside an alley, and before he could react, they bound him with restraints.

"So demon kid, you came here to destroy our village again?" One of them asked as he drew out a Kunai, "Well too bad, you might have been a mighty beast once, but now you are just a kid."

"Careful, Aiji, he is still the demon. We don't know how powerful he is."

"I know that Makoto. But I can see, he won't be any match for us."

Then the man looked at Naruto with murder in his eyes, "why did you come out of you den? Did you think we will not harm you because of your appearance? You were dead wrong, weren't you?"

Naruto's mind was numb with shock, and he couldn't retaliate when the man called Aiji started slashing him with his Kunai. He just remained there, screaming with each gash made on his body. He could have made an attempt to defend himself, he had been training endlessly from the day he was able to walk, but the fear of what his father would do to him if he disobeyed his strictest rule far outweighed anything that any of these people would do to him, or so he thought.

"You like that? I will make you pay for all the lives you took. I will keep cutting you like this till you are nothing but pieces of your former self. I will then feed them to the dogs and let them celebrate the death of the demon too!"

The self preservation instinct finally kicked in, and Naruto started struggling. His captors were not very skilled with bindings. Naruto broke free easily, and the other two just stared. His training was more physical than mental, no doubt a plan by madara to make him susceptible and easily bent to his will.

"Please let me go, I didn't do anything to you."

"You think you lie your way out of this you tricky little fox?" Aiji laughed.

"You're going to pay for you crimes, monster." Makoto sneered, "Hokage made the rule that we never seek out or come near you to harm you, I think for our safety. He will be glad, we finally get rid of you."

The fear that Naruto had for his life started to go away as another feeling took hold, anger. He only wanted to celebrate his birthday for the first time in his life. For once he was able to celebrate it without being locked up in his house, sure he still had his father, but now not only did he not have his father, but there was people saying they are going to kill him for a reason he knew nothing about. No, he will not die here.

"**Kage bunshin no jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as the alley filled with clones surprising the two men.

The fight didn't last long. Naruto was strong, and he was intelligent. He knocked both of them down, but not before the other stalkers came into sight. Naruto gulped, two were fine, but ten more people would not let him survive this.

"_Whose stupid idea was it to celebrate? Oh yeah. Mine_" he mumbled, as he broke into a sprint, with others following him. "_Oh damn.._."

Meanwhile in Naruto's residence

"Oh no! Oh no, oh no oh no no no!", a Kunoichi's panicked voice came from her team mates' microphones.

"Hana, what's wrong?"

"That boy we were supposed to be guarding, I can't see him anywhere."

"WHAT?" her two team mates screamed, making the girl cringe.

"Are you sure Hana? Did you check?"

"Hell yea I did, why else would I say this? What do you take me for, an idiot?"

"Hana," came a calmer voice, "we are not questioning you. The boy could not have just vanished."

"He did. I deactivated the Byakugan for a sec, and then when I activate again, there was no signs of the boy!"

"We must inform sensei now"

The three genin immediately hurried to find their sensei. They found him near the Hokage tower.

"Sensei! stop! Bad news!"

"Whoa whoa slow down. Take a deep breath."

The children breathed, and then the older man asked, "So may I know why you are all here when you were supposed to on a guard duty today? I know you guys want to go and celebrate like other kids at Kyuubi fest but you guys are on mission..."

"No...! Shikaku sensei listen, that kid has suddenly disappeared."

"What...what do you mean 'disappeared'? I want a thorough explanation right now Iruka." Shikaku snapped

The genin 'Iruka' began telling the story, and at the end of it, Shikaku decided he had to tell the Hokage. The circumstances, in his opinion, could only be described in one word,

"Troublesome."

Konoha fest

So far, Naruto had managed to evade his pursuers. He figured that they will eventually get tired from the game of tag, but he didn't understand that just like love, hatred also fueled men with stamina enough to conquer. And these men were instilled with so much hatred that Naruto didn't stand a chance.

The whirlwind by now was a bloody mess, and exhausted like hell. People didn't notice him due to the big crowd, and his pursuers didn't scream because they knew there were shinobi all over the place, most of them were well aware of the "No-Harm-To-the-Vessel" rule and were under blood oath to follow it. If they utter a single word in public, they will be executed before anyone knew what happened.

Naruto ran and ran, colliding with some person or other. None of them gave him a second glance, till he tripped over a girl wearing a blue Kimono.

"I am sorry! I am so sorry!" He apologized, and raised himself, only to see a pale eyed girl staring at him. Naruto found the girl quite beautiful. While her eyes were a bit strange, they seemed like a pearl resting on an oyster. The girl meanwhile looked at him in horror, and squeaked, "You...blood..."

"Wh-who are you?" she asked looking into his eyes. She saw some fear in them as his darted about frantically looking for something.

"No time," he said, "before they catch me"

She saw his eyes widened as he darted away from her soon followed by a group of angry looking people. Hinata looked over her dress; bloodstains covered a large portion of it. She could see the boy was about her age, yet he was literally being chased by a bunch of freaks obviously trying to kill him. His wounds were painful even to look at. She was curious, and decided to follow him. She looked at her father, who was busy talking to someone. Her father took no heed since a little tomfoolery was part of the festivities and who really cared for an unseemly vagrant boy?

"Father, I wish to visit that shop we missed earlier. Can we go there?" she interrupted. Knowing her father, she would be treated like she was a spoilt child under mending and he will disagree to come with her. She wasn't disappointed.

Hinata followed the route the boy had taken, and saw bloodstains on the ground to confirm she was right on track. When she finally caught up with them, she was met with a spine-chilling sight.

If the boy was wounded earlier, it was nothing to what he was now. Every single part of him had deep cuts, with blood gushing all over. It seemed they had used fire on him, as there were angry burns on his face. But that was not what made her snap. They were punching him repeatedly on his face and stomach. Those who were not doing that were either kicking him or digging in their nails at every wound inflicted.

Suddenly, Hinata heard a loud growl coming out from the boy. Orange bubbles started oozing out of his body, healing all the wounds and burns. Hinata took a step back as she saw the boy's features growing fiercer, his eyes turned from a cool shade of blue to a fiery shade of red. The others saw the transformation, and started screaming.

"Why," he asked as tears cascaded down his cheeks making his eyes that were now that of the kyuubi look like a painful mixture of malice, anger and sadness, "I only snuck out to celebrate my birthday, why are you doing this to me?"

"Because you murdered our families", a man answered in rage and charged at him, "Die you demon scum."

This was his birthday, a day in which all little children waited for and despite his training, Naruto was still just that, a child. He did not know what to do with the emotions that were pouring out of him, the anger, the hate the sadness, he did not know what to do with them, he did not know what to do about all these people attacking him for something he knew not about. He did the only thing he could do, the thing he was raised to do, he fought, and when the fight was over, he was the only one standing. Those who now lay motionless on the ground would count this a luck day, for had they attacked an older version of Naruto and not a seven year old one, then all their lives would have been forfeit. They were quite lucky indeed.

When the sudden power surge wore off, Naruto collapsed. Hinata was watching on the sidelines, her mind completely numb. She could not understand what happened, how a boy her age beat so many adults. But, the sound of Naruto's collapse brought her back to reality. She rushed by his side, and as she looked into her eyes, she could see the pain that he was in, not the physical pain, but the emotional one.

"_It couldn't be true,"_ she thought, _"No demon can have such pain in him."_

"Heh, seems like you came to save me again..."

"H-Hi...Hinata...my name is Hinata."

"Aah, Arigatou...Hina..." Naruto lost consciousness in the middle of his speech. Hinata's eyes were filled with tears, and this time she could not stop them. This was the first time she saw someone die, someone so brave, someone so warm and sad.

"_If I wasn't so weak, then I could have done more than watch,"_ she berated herself, _"I could have done something, I should have done something, but now…"_

Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her, and turned to look at the two men Naruto had fought. They managed to regain consciousness, and had come to fight again.

"Look at him, too bad he's not dead yet."

"_He's not dead,"_ Hinata thought as her heart filled with joy till the man spoke again.

"Hey girl, move aside before that demon devours your soul."

Hinata's mind was made up, if this boy could stand up to so many, then who was she to shy away from only two was. She had to protect this boy, because the look in those men's eye meant only one thing for the unconscious boy behind her.

"_I will be just like him and not back down no matter what." _She thought to herself as she got ready to defend her new friend, but also become someone she and her father could be proud of, but she would not have to, at least not tonight.

"The only person's soul being devoured, will be yours !" came another voice, and Hinata saw a man in regular Jounin uniform, with the weirdest hairstyle she could imagine. Seriously, he looked as if he had gone through 100 volts of current and then came here. Despite his comical hairstyle, the glare from his right eye made the other two start to sweat. For some reason, his left eye was covered with his Hitai-ate.

"Kakashi san, he is a demon. We have finally caught him. Let's finish him off." They tried to make him see reason.

"I believe that there was a ruled passed by Hokage-sama that you shall not hurt the boy at any cost under pain of death. I am here to give you the same, with Sandaime Hokage's orders, you trash."

He then looked at the Hinata, who was hovering over Naruto protectively. "Hyuuga san, I don't think this is something you would like to see. Perhaps you should go."

"No, I am staying with him," Hinata said, and then marveled over the fact that she didn't stutter.

"Very well," he said as he removed a Kunai from his pouch "I advise you to look the other way then and keep him safe."

Hinata complied eagerly, and then waited. For some kind of scream or anything that would indicate that the shinobi was killing Naruto's pursuers, but none came. After some time, Kakashi called her out. "Hyuuga san, it's done."

Hinata looked around and saw that there were no bodies. Kakashi had a huge scroll in front of him, where he was sealing a head. She then understood what happened of those bodies, and shuddered.

"Hyuuga san, I think you should hand over Naruto to me now. He needs medical attention."

"Naruto? His name is Naruto?" Hinata asked stupidly. Kakashi chuckled at her expression.

"Yes. The way you were hovering over him, I thought you two were friends. Guess I am wrong."

Hinata could not say anything, and moved silently, Kakashi meanwhile flung Naruto over his shoulders gently. Before he could go however, Hinata's voice came from behind.

"Wait, I wished to ask you something, if you don't mind."

"Of course, what do you wish to know?" Kakashi asked gently. Hinata was for a minute, unsure whether she wished to know the answer of her question or not. But well, curiosity killed the cat.

"Why… why were they trying to kill him? Who is he?" Hinata asked, again surprised how bold she sounded.

'_May be I am finally over my stuttering issues. Father will be happy with me.'_

Kakashi looked at the little pale eyed girl, and smiled under his mask,

"He is a hero that doesn't even know just how precious he is to us, yet there are those who cannot see it, these pathetic fools," he said, picking up the scroll. Then he paused, and looked Hinata in her eyes, "Perhaps you might become someone who can see him for who he is, a hero, and be his friend." He winked at her.

"I shall take my leave now. Goodbye."

When the older man was gone, Hinata turned around, and then just spoke one word before heading back to her father.

"Naruto..."

A few moments later, the shadows in the alley stirred, revealing a man adorned with a black coat. His crimson eyes shone even in darkness. The figure came at the spot where Naruto was lying earlier.

"_Heh. s__taying undercover like this in Konoha paid off after all. After today, he will finally be ready to be wielded into a weapon for Konoha's destruction. Every single man in the village will pay for his mistake. That fool Kakashi, he is Yondaime's pupil. He is too much of an idiot, like Hashirama, like Hiruzen and Like the Namikaze. But that girl...her concern..." _Madara's mind was working fast. He could see that behind the timid shell was a really strong material for Kunoichi. And he could tell from her reactions that in one way or other, she is also neglected by her own people. _"Perhaps, I can use her too. __A Byakugan can come in quite handy__._

With that, he retreated back to the shadows.

A week later

'Kazuma' rushed inside the Hokage office, with a frantic expression on his face. Hiruzen was coming out of his office too, so he collided with a clearly agitated man.

"Kazuma san, It's a relief you are back. I..."

"Hokage sama, I can't find Naruto. He is not at home. I looked everywhere, but..."

"Kazuma san", Hiruzen said gently, "Naruto is at the hospital. He managed to evade the genin team and went to the festival but was attacked by some people when they realized who he was. But that has been taken care of. Here, let me take you to meet him."

They walked to Konoha hospital in silence. As soon as they reached his ward, Hiruzen stopped.

"Kazuma san, you go inside. I will check his conditions from the medics."

'kazuma' nodded and entered the room as Hiruzen walked away, only to find a miserable Naruto, staring off into space. He did not say anything, till Madara got settled at the chair nearest to him. Naruto did not look at him, but said, "I was born on night Kyuubi was defeated. "

His father nodded.

"Villagers here hate me and call me demon, as soon as I told them my birthday they chased me and beat me as if I was the demon."

Madara sighed.

"One of them called me demon reincarnate "

Madara stiffened. _'This is it'_

"On every single one of my birthday, you kept me at home and whenever I asked why you didn't let me, you replied 'time will come'."

Madara looked up and met Naruto's eyes.

"Why father, why were they looking at me like that?" he cried, "Is it true that I am the kyuubi?

x_x_x

**That's it folks...longest chapter in my fanfic history! Phew...and so many OOC. I think I will use some of them, like Kaori and Hana in future, bt thats still a maybe. Well, I am sleepy now, and my head hurts. So I will leave it up to you to read and enjoy it. Oh don't forget to review!**

**Ja ne!**


	7. They are behind him!

**Hello guys. I am sorry for being late. I have had lots of stuff going on. WELL...I actually had finished rough draft of this chapter by June end, but couldn't type it and thus the whole thing got postponed. Phew, this one was supposed to be a birthday gift for my awesome beta reader. But well, me and my laziness *sighs* But better late than never huh. This will remain a gift to the ever spectacular, Jinsokuichi!**

**And yea, let me inform you guys that I might not be updating for a long time. 2 reasons: one, I am preparing for my exams, SAT and TOEFL, all at same time, and the whole thing will be over by October. And second, my computer got blown up. I am updating this one using my mum's Laptop.**

**This chapter will not feature either of our main characters, well not directly. Its just to build up the situation. It might be confusing, so I seriously recommend u read last chapter CAREFULLY. You will find that all were not dead.**

**I also made a stupid mistake of messing with time line. Iruka I believe was already a chuunin by this time. But other two are genin. Silly mistake on my part. Sorry!**

**Ok on with chapter**

**Regular**

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashbacks_

_**Kyuubi**_

**Jutsus**

Place/Timeskip

Hokage Office

Sarutobi sat in his office, deep in thought. On his desk were two reports, one submitted by Kakashi on the ruckus in Kyuubi fest, and other by Shikaku, whose team was guarding Naruto that day. Since both Kakashi and Shikaku, who were well known for their laziness, had bothered to submit their reports on time, the matter had to be serious. And it was.

According to Shikaku's report, his team, consisting of two Genin and a Chuunin, were guarding the boy. Their Byakugan user had been exhausted from chasing after the boy decided to take a brief rest. That would prove to be a mistake, because till then, the boy was very much in the house. But the moment she realized that Naruto was nowhere to be found in the house, she activated her Byakugan only to realize that she couldn't find Naruto anywhere. The other two were, meanwhile, patrolling the other areas of the property. There was no way the boy could have escaped without passing by them. Yet, somehow, he had vanished as if he was never even there.

Kakashi's report brought no relief either. When Sandaime compared his report to Shikaku's, he found that the first assault on Naruto and his disappearance happened roughly around the same time. As if that wasn't enough, Kakashi's report had another bombshell. According to it, the last two assaulters that were incapacitated by Kakashi were already heavily injured. And all the evidence indicated Naruto was the cause.

Nothing fit. How the hell would a seven year old boy, not even in the academy, vanish right under the nose of a Byakugan user and two other highly skilled ninja, then to appear in an alleyway where he was able to inflict fatal injuries on not one, but two Chuunin, and even with fatal injuries of his own, was able to run at a speeds that out-maneuvered other Shinobi's AND survive the bashing. Sarutobi suspected that the Kyuubi might have something to do with it, but even with its help, he wouldn't have been able to evade a team of trained ninja. The only other option was that Kazuma had something to do with it, and that 'something' was very, very wrong.

Deciding, he summoned for one of his best ANBU captains. In a few minutes, the said captain appeared, with his raven mask in place.

"I have a mission for your team. I need you to go in the forests across the river. At its western end, you will find a cottage. Investigate on its residents. They comprise of a man about 45years old, and a child, about 7 years of age."

"Hai", the captain said quietly. Sarutobi leaned back on his chair. "What is the condition of your _other_ mission?"

"Due to my previous mission, I have not been able to attend the meeting. The next meeting of the clan is the day after tomorrow. I will try to attend it, and will inform you further."

Sarutobi felt sad for the boy. He knew that for the sake of his village and its people, the boy in front of him was going as far as betraying his loved ones. _I sincerely hope that __I am able to come to a compromise before _that_ situation becomes any worse__.__"_

"Very well, you may go now," the young ANBU bowed, and went off.

Sarutobi took out his pipe, and started thinking. Itachi was good both at Genjutsu and Ninjutsu, and even better at neutralizing their effect. If 'Kazuma' was something or hiding something he shouldn't be, then it's time that he comes into the light.

Meanwhile in the Shibuya residential area

A man in his thirties walked in his house, clearly tired. He seemed like he had been having a very bad day. He slumped down in the living room, and called for his wife

"Tatsuki! Bring some water please."

His wife, a slightly plump woman with sharp eyes came, "Don't scream so loudly, the children are sleeping. They are tired from running around during the festival. Speaking of which, how did the business go?"

The man groaned at the question, and Tatsuki understood something was wrong. "Kyo-kun? What happened?"

"Kyuubi happened."

At his wife's puzzled look, he explained, "That demon vessel kid, he was at the festival. He came to my shop."

Tatsuki stiffened, remembering how Kyuubi had killed so many people, her brother included.

"How was it?" she managed out.

"It was horrible. I mean, the boy looked so innocent; blond hair, blue eyes. His cheeks were marred, as if he was badly scratched, but on closer look, they were whisker marks. He...he said he was born on this date seven years ago. That's when I knew he was back! He is back to kill us!"

"Why didn't you raise an alarm..."

"There were so many people! If I had made even a little fuss, he might have attacked there and then. It even happened. Some of my customers, who heard him and understood who he was, went after him," he said as he rubbed his eyes, "I just came from their house. They have not returned, and I don't think they will. I am sure that the demon had them. I should have poisoned him. I should have...I should have..."

"Calm down dear. What's done is done. We have Sandaime-sama, he will protect the village."

"But he will return! He will return! I know it! He won't leave us till we are all dead!"

"When he returns, we will all defeat him again, and this time, we will make sure that he won't ever return, ever."

Her husband, now visibly shaking, just nodded.

"Come on, honey, it's been a long day," he said as he took his wife's hand, "Let's go to bed."

Tatsuki smiled, "Yes."

They say that the best way to spread something that is supposed to be a secret is to tell it to a woman, and forbid her to ever speak of it. Women are the strangest creatures, they hide matters as unimportant as age well, but the matters of great importance cannot remain a secret with them for long.

Kyoshiro Miname, a Taiyaki vendor of Konoha, learnt this lesson the hard way. After a good night's rest, he had asked his wife Tatsuki to remain quiet about his little rendezvous with the 'Kyuubi kid' as he dubbed it. But well, she couldn't resist telling her mother about it, who 'accidentally' slipped this to her neighbor, and so on. By the end of the month, half the population knew that Kyuubi had visited the festival of his own defeat. The rumors were that he had a tail tucked inside his pants, talked in a hissing voice, liked fresh meat, had a cunning look, etc, etc. The only real features of Naruto that didn't get messed up in the villagers' description were his blue eyes, and whisker marks. And people were resolved to capture anyone who bore any similarity to this. Capture, and not kill on sight, because even they had enough sense to realise that the boy was left alive for a reason. But they were determined to make him pay the price for taking the lives of their loved ones.

Meanwhile, the object of their hatred was all but oblivious to the future awaiting him. Naruto, totally unaware of the conspiracy, was now training harder than usual with no idea of how much he would need it in the future.

**Another chapter done! I'm truly sorry that this is so short.**

**I am nearly finished with rough draft of the next chapter, only typing and proof-reading it remains. I think I'll do it on this Sunday, or may be Tuesday. I am having tough time thinking up the matter for this fic, so if u guys have good ideas, pls do tell me. Phew...I hope I am able to finish some of the chapters before my Final exams come. Hah!**

**Ja ne!**


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